Florence and Friends | Flotsam and Jetsam Pop-up Project
"Florence & Friends" is a pop-up exhibition curated by RICHARD ORJIS and Julia Holderness at Flotsam and Jetsam from 26 September - 11 October. It features the launch of ceramics by Florence Weir alongside selected pieces by Kirsten Dryburgh, Steve Lovett, EMMA FITTS, George Hamilton, ERICA VAN ZON, GAVIN HURLEY, Hannah Upritchard, Christopher Duncan, Greta Grossman, KIRSTIN CARLIN and KRISTY GORMAN.
Florence Kowhai Cunningham Weir is a little known figure in New Zealand. Born in Christchurch in 1899, she spent most of her life in the UK where she became a successful interior architect and home-ware designer. Florence is possibly the only New Zealander to have studied at the Bauhaus workshops in Germany. She spent six months there on a post-graduate visit in 1926. A ceramicist, sculptor, textile designer and interior architect, Weir is a key figure in New Zealand's design lineage.
Recently, some ceramic sketches and watercolour designs have been uncovered in the personal collection of Thomas Wild, a relative based in Auckland. It is not known why these designs were sent back to New Zealand and excluded from her primary estate in Sussex. These designs have been produced into a range simply called Florence Weir.
Florence was also a textile designer for a brief period in 1927, working at the Calico Printers’ Association, a prestigious textile company in Manchester, UK. Interestingly she worked alongside Frances Hodgkins at this time, who was also employed there.
Flotsam and Jetsam is located at 84 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby. The exhibition is upstairs and will be open daily.
